Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom
I know you don't need them to go far but I'm speaking purely in general terms. If you look at the ratio of career successes from school leavers and then from college leavers over a 5-10 year period I bet you'd see a big difference
These days even the people who don't want A Levels go on to do a vocational course in construction or hair and beauty or something like that.
Years ago it was a lot different, but these days some schools report figures of at least 90% going on to further education which in a year group of 200 people means that 180 leave education at that point.
A levels are also the qualifications that most employers look at.
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There are plenty of careers that offer on the job training and education - and this obsession with sending kids into further education to the extent they are in no gainful employment until they are in their early 20s is, quite frankly, ludicrous. It gives kids a false and unrealistic sense of entitlement to a job in a world where it's dog eat dog and the early bird catches the worm.
Vocational courses are the way to go, earn while you learn and end up with a useful skill that will enable you to earn a living. It is even more imperative that student fees are raised and not funded by the taxpayer if such high percentages are opting to stay in education for a further 3 years.
I have two sons who both spurned uni and they're the ones laughing now, as they are in secure, full time employment, whilst many of their contemporaries who opted for a degree are unemployed. Because so many people are getting degrees, it has devalued the qualification to the extent that you literally have to have one to work behind the counter at KFC or McDonalds.